Biorhythms and Mood
This piece is an addendum to my theory of one gravity and one brain human beings.
I am writing this as a non medical man and not as a shaman. There are lot of bogus shamans on the internet and this piece is a direct antithesis to some of them. Of course, I am against claims of some Citizen Scientists. Beginning of this piece has minimum physiological facts and I will end up on psychological domains, at the end with Ayahuaska aka Magic Mushroom.
Unfortunately, I could not include these physiological facts in my book on alcohol.
I have enumerated six levels of alcohol poisoning, in that book.
I would end up with Buddhist attitude to Meditation and Priti and Sukka realms.
This piece is relatively short but content is very intense.
We are Guys and Girls of 24 hour cycle.
This cycle varies from hemisphere to hemisphere and being a guy from the tropics, I feel the difference acutely and it took me nearly 3 months to get my biorhythm acclimatized to Australia.
This is of course, having been in the United Kingdom as an adult.
The age factor is also in operation.
Coming to biorhythm it is divided into 3.
1. Sleep or hibernation phase.
2. Biological or 8 hour food cycle.
3. Brief high capacity intellectual activity.
Let me come to the physiology base.
We have to keep our blood sugar at very narrow limits and thankfully our pancreas and insulin save us from any disruption in our brain activity.
If one is a diabetic, I pity him or her but this piece will let one control one's own physiology within the safe limits and may even avoid adult onset diabetes.
The base line is sugar level and maintaining one's Citric Acid Cycle.
Light Breakfast with Tea is mandatory.
Piece of Banana does the rest.
Banana has lot of sugars including fructose.
They are hexose sugars and banana also has pentose sugars which are good for nucleic acid metabolism.
Banana, has lot of amino acids.
My recommendation is at least one banana, a day, if one is following one meal a day, regime.
If one takes two main meals two banana a day is my recommendation.
What banana does is it to maintain the blood sugar within safe limits, in between meals.
There are no insulin swings and no hunger episodes and the satiety cycle is well maintained.
This regime is for the tropics and for colder climates and for winter months a better protocol is necessary.
Most animals have brown fat in their system and can hibernate in winter months.
Humans have lost both brown fat and hibernation ability.
My advice is for the guys and girls to move into tropics during winter months, of course, those who can afford.
For the rest without gas from Russia and economic downturn one has to bite the teeth and grin with anguish.
Glucose is a taboo for no valid reason for normal adults and most sugars are metabolised by diastases.
The major culprit of long term brain damage is alcohol and its associated hypoglycemia.
Any form of alcohol upsets the sugar metabolism.
One dose of alcohol causes ketosis in the liver (fatty change) and upsets the sugar and fat metabolism within the next 24 hours.
Alcohol also, upsets the melatonin induced biorhythm which is related to daily exposure to sunlight.
Alcohol is no good for sugar metabolism.
My belief is that alcohol induced hypoglycemia has some relationship to euphoria that the partaker enjoys, at the onset of the binge.
This effect of euphoria wanes off almost immediately and brings the urge to drink more.
I have enjoyed wines in my life and I did not realize I was a low grade unconfirmed addict. I have successfully weaned myself off.
Good cup of tea is my an antidote.
Tea is not addictive but a mild stimulant.
Unlike coffee which is addictive, tea has lot of antioxidants which is good for the heart.
The best suppler of antioxidants is virgin chocolates, the fat and sugars in chocolates are not healthy.
Chocolates have over 300 micro-ingredients which non of the Ayurvedic Medicine can supplement.
Dark chocolate is expensive.
Virgin coconut oil is the best to avoid dementia in old age.
1. Euphoria
2. Ecstasy
3. Illusion
4. Delusion
The effects of Ayahuaska I will deal with later.
I need to replenish my level of tea in my system before I could enlarge upon this short article.
I am a life long skeptic of euphoria induced by any drug including alcohol.
Euphoria induced by any form of drug is temporary and leads to addiction.
Any form of addiction including tobacco is harmful to health.
Let me be brief about neurophysiology.
To begin with our understanding of neurophysiology is still at primitive stage, medically speaking.
Pain is in one end.
Happiness is the other.
Neither pain nor happiness is the base or homeostasis. Balance or homeostasis is necessary for heart, kidney, brain and liver.
This homeostasis is managed by our brain.
Meditation is not a therapeutic option.
My bone of contention is any drug induced euphoria or ecstasy upsets the ability of the brain to bring homeostasis to the entire system including brain itself.
I am not a psychiatrist and I refuse to delve into esoteric realms and psychiatric problems.
However, I have no objections for psychiatrists using these esoteric drugs for patients having followed proper clinical studies. But I have my reservation about the inability to reproduce these benefits in clinical settings.
These experiences are not objective but subjective.
I sympathize with the individual cases but I pity for their addiction.
If one can avoid any extraneous support it is the best one can achieve.
In my case, I have never given these substances (sedatives) to adult patients except preoperative preparation. Having said that sometime a simple dose of voltaren makes people with renal colic worship me in clinical setting. I think voltaren has addictive properties.
Regarding Ayahuaska, I have given a good account in my books on alcohol and mind.
One may refer the chapters on Ayahuaska for in depth analysis.
My summary goes like this.
1. It is related to its dose.
A little bit brings in calmness.
Large dose brings in ecstasy bypassing state of euphoria.
Ecstasy for me an overboard experience.
One becomes Godly.
Overtly loving and feeling of artificial oneness is humanely unnatural.
This is seen especially in Godly intervention in Hinduism.
There is no inter-phase of euphoria as seen with alcohol.
Often it is the hard drug addicts who seem to benefit from Ayahuaska.
Its use for ordinary guys and girls is dangerous.
These citizen scientists have no role in the wider world.
That is my opinion.
Even authentic scientists should be vary and beware of the unintended pitfalls.
They should use astute judgement when giving opinions on substances.
One level of Ayahuaska may be medical.
The other level or the next level is spiritual.
Shamans use this dose level for induction of entry level guys.
It is a dangerous trap.
With that goes the monetary benefits.
With or without monetary benefits addicts are created.
That is no good.
The perceived higher level of conscious is an illusion that ends up in delusion.
Illusion and delusion are antithetic to Buddhist View of Reality.
I would end up with Buddhist outlook.
Ayahuaska is an antithesis to Buddhist teaching.
Alertness.
Awareness.
Objectiveness are fundamental to Buddhist Meditation.
Priti and Sukka may be addictive to the final goal of Upekka or Equanimity.
Seela, Sati, Samadhi and Pragna are the four steps to the final goal.
Ayahuaska has no place in Buddhism.
Buddhism is not based on addiction but on understanding of the human predicament based on "Uncertainty Principle".
Addiction is an impediment to goal seeking nature and behaviour of Buddhism.
Metta
Karuna
Muditha
Upekka are fundamental to Buddhism.
